We're down to the "top" three, the finale's only a week away and it's time to board the Idol merry-go-round and we endure three rounds of songs, critiques, phone numbers and interviews. Hold on tight, 'cuz you won't wanna miss a thing...
Round One: Judges' Choice
Paula chose "And So It Goes" by Billy Joel for Archuleta. Note that NO contestant Paula has chosen for has ever gone on to win the show, and 5 of the 6 contestants who performed first during top three week were then eliminated. After a brief violin opening, Archie sings a cappella, which was a very smart move. He delivers a beautiful vocal, arguably the best of the night (although I enjoyed Cook's closing song the best in rehearsal). And so it goes...and so it goes...and so it goes...wow that felt way longer on TV, but no matter. I'm proud of the kid. A
Randy's choice for Syesha is "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys, which *interestingly* enough, she already performed on a show called "The One." She wears a sparkly lounge singer dress (DC was fascinated by the reflection it cast on the stage in rehearsal), and it is a very standard Syesha performance that lacks the grittiness of Alicia's vocal and delivery and feels a bit uneven. B
Simon went on record saying that he wanted to pick Cook's song so that he could "push him in a different direction" (interesting, since he's also said he'd listen to him "on a personal level.") Simon's choice for D-Cook is Roberta Flack's "If Ever I Saw Your Face" which has *curiously* already been covered by Simon's prodigy Leona Lewis (Simon's sit-in joked that it was a great song choice, which had DC in stitches). Cook sounds a bit off for the first half of the song and ends with his signature shouty note (not hatin', although shouting about YOUR FACE did seem a tad strange). LOVE the shots of his mom standing and swaying in the audience and when his dad mouthed "Who was the first?" when Paula said it was her second favorite rendition of the song. David brought out a Guitar Hero guitar in rehearsal and acted like he was going to "play" it at first. My friend shouted out that we wanted to see him "on the piano" because we had heard that he plays. He cleared up that rumor, saying that he plays a little but not enough to do it in a performance. Then he said he was "terrible" but I think he was talking about Guitar Hero because I've also heard that--like most guitar players--he's no good. A-
Round Two: Contestant's Choice
In an attempt to appear current (and suspend reality), Archie chose Chris Brown's "With You." This made me giggle, because it involves such choice lyrics as "My Boo," and "Hey little mama," but he totally ended up killing it in rehearsal by playing to the crowd and adding some funky fresh moves (one girl actually cried, LOL). Then things fell apart on TV, and the middle was a complete mess as he struggled with the lyrics. It did however result in the best line of the night, when, after expressing my dismay over his forgetting the words again, Mini-Me exclaimed (in all seriousness) "OMG! He must have amnesia or something!" :::Pauses for laughter::: I'll average out the two versions of the performance I saw and give this a B-.
Syesha delivers a sultry cabaret performance of Peggy Lee's "Fever" with a chair in a dangerously short dress. Paris Bennett did this song in season 5 and it wasn't nearly as :::ahem::: hot. Still, burning hot for Syesha is kinda like lukewarm for Cook. She can ACT sexy but I don't find myself wanting to switch teams when I watch her Haley Scarnat-ho it up, ya know? Props to her for loosening up this week and having fun. She knows she's got little chance of making the finale and isn't stressin'. See ya on Broadway, girl! A-
Cook originally chose Collective Soul's "The World I Know" but then changed his pick to Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move" for whatever reason. He experienced feedback in rehearsal as well as issues choreographing the dis-assembly of the guitar, resulting in maximum Cookie time on stage. The song itself was predictable, safe, and felt like it was over in a flash but I ain't mad at him. Also spotted, the best sign ever: "Cougars 4 Cook!" LOL. A-
Round Three: Producer's Choice
The producers (Nigel?) chose "Longer" by Dan Fogelberg for Archie's final song. I hated that they picked such a dreary ballad for him but he sang it well. It was pretty boring and forgettable, but not his fault. A-
Syesha got to "have fun" again with "Hit Me Up" from the Happy Feet soundtrack. Um, yeah. W T F producers? Could your intentions BE any more obvious? She makes the most of it, but it still won't be enough to "save" her. B+
Finally, a decent song choice from the producers: D-Cook has been assigned "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith, which Antonella Barba butchered last year. Don't get me wrong, it's no "Iris," but a solid song choice nonetheless. The assembly of the strings on stage was brilliant, and I got chills while listening to this because I felt like (okay, imagined) he was singing to me. Cook didn't go for the big notes Steven Tyler hits, but that was probably wise after what happened when MJ attempted Aerosmith. A
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On the way out we talked to a few of Archie's family members and got to meet "David Cook's Awesome Brother" Andrew who lived up to his awesome title and was as nice as could be (he confirmed that he'll be auditioning again next year so keep an eye out for him).
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